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JayWang
09-03-2005, 07:10 PM
hey guys, so I have this assignment from my technical communications class …

it’s a questionnaire about how important communication can be in the real world …. I have to find current examples found in today’s industry …. It’s meant to be filled out by engineers (any kind) that are currently in the work field (or I guess also if you’ve had past work experience)…. I would really appreciate ANY response that I can get from this

thnx in advance guys =)

ps. if you could also state in your reply your first/last name, where you work and your job title ... that would be great too!

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1. What is the typical audience, purpose, and content of their letters and memos?

2. How do they decide between writing a hardcopy letter or memo, making a phone
call, or sending email?

3. How much secretarial assistance do they receive? Do they get help editing or
proofreading their correspondence?

4. When they have to convey specialized, technical information is it usually to
another engineer, or do they have to translate for non-specialists?

5. What do they see as the advantages and the problems of using email in conducting
their business?
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frank
10-03-2005, 01:55 PM
If we answer your questions then I'll bet you'll just copy them and submit them as your own work :) now that would be cheating :D

How about you post your thoughts and then we can comment on the quality/correctness of your answers? :cool:

chemi-cool
10-03-2005, 04:15 PM
I liked it Frank.

Abe
10-03-2005, 10:20 PM
hey guys, so I have this assignment from my technical communications class …

it’s a questionnaire about how important communication can be in the real world …. I have to find current examples found in today’s industry …. It’s meant to be filled out by engineers (any kind) that are currently in the work field (or I guess also if you’ve had past work experience)…. I would really appreciate ANY response that I can get from this

thnx in advance guys =)

ps. if you could also state in your reply your first/last name, where you work and your job title ... that would be great too!

---------------------------------------------------------------------
1. What is the typical audience, purpose, and content of their letters and memos?

2. How do they decide between writing a hardcopy letter or memo, making a phone
call, or sending email?

3. How much secretarial assistance do they receive? Do they get help editing or
proofreading their correspondence?

4. When they have to convey specialized, technical information is it usually to
another engineer, or do they have to translate for non-specialists?

5. What do they see as the advantages and the problems of using email in conducting
their business?
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Hello Jay,

We can help you..............but not spoon feed you.
Show us youve done the ground work............prepare the ground and surface.............Provide the input.

Be concise.........Tell us what you want.
Dont be so open ended.

Then I think I may be able to provide an input.

For a start, tell us which college you go to and your age and more about your course.

Wish u well with your assignment

Regards

Abe

JayWang
11-03-2005, 01:32 AM
hmmm, i didn't really expect this kind of response ....

some background info:

i'm in my 3rd year of chemical engineering at Queen's University (in Kingston, Ontario, Canada). This year, we have a technical communication (or others like the call it "english for engineers") course as part of our course load.

the assignment was to find engineers that are currently working in industry and ask the 5 questions i posted (these questions were given to all of us, by the proffessor). i have to write a memo/letter to my TA and summarize my findings.

i also have to justify why i either choose the memo or letter format (which is based on my findings from interveiwing others)

im not here looking to rip everyone off and just steal your writing .... and i guess i apologize if the questions are too vague, but it's what the teacher wants ....

i don't personally know any engineers that are currently in the work force, so i thought i could look online for some help with this assignment ...

as for my thoughts, i wouldn't know if they would be relavent or not, as i have never held a job as an engineer ... so i guess in order to answer the questions, i would have to make up my information ... and i don't think the TA is going to want to mark my immagination ...

but if i could guess;

this is the digital generation ... i would assume emails are the main vehicles of relaying messages .... they are fast, cheap and easy ... i mean, why snail mail anything any more? and the only time you would talk/see someone in person was if it was urgent?

but then again, what if you work for a company that may have employees of an older generation ... thus not growing up using emails .... they would much rather have hard copies as that is what they are used to ....

in the end, i would imagine all work places are different ... different places, different people, will all have different preferences ... so maybe you guys can help me out and prove that everyone is different!

and again, by no means did i want to come off looking like a slacker... :(

Thanks again to anyone who can help me out

frank
11-03-2005, 10:23 AM
1. What is the typical audience, purpose, and content of their letters and memos?

OK Jay, I think you've proved that you have a genuine enquiry and need assistance with your assignment, and me being a great believer in training the younger generation, I'll start things off by giving an answer to question no.1.

My name is Frank and I'm an engineer/employer with a business in the UK designing, installing, servicing and repairing air conditioning systems. The business has customers in the banking sector, entertainment sector (bingo/casino's), brewery sector, housing associations, printers, garages and private individuals and we sub-contract to shopfitting contractors, electrical contractors and builders. In fact, anyone with an enquiry for a potential "job" gets my full attention.

We handle enquiries from small jobs just wanting a small wall mounted split type air conditioner within one room to central plant projects consisting of air handling units, ductwork distribution systems with gas heating and cooling and chillers. Anything that requires the conditioning of air for comfort conditions or process cooling we are interested. We do not get involved in low temperature work, supermarkets, mobile (Vehicles) or transport jobs.

To correspond with these customers and potential customers we use the telephone, both landline and mobile, because it is an instant method of communication, it conveys mood and emotion directly and adds the personal touch to a relationship.

We also use the written word as in letters sent by snail mail (geeze - I remember the good old days when this was all you had) as this tends to be a permanant copy of official and legal correspondence between the parties. Sometimes it is necessary to register the posting of a letter with the Post Office to prove that the letter has been sent in order that the recipient cannot say otherwise (as in legal documents).

Most of - but not all - of our quotations are sent by letter and each has a unique reference for traceability. Letters are also sent out when contacting new prospective customers as it is the tried and tested method. If I receive initial contact from some unknown company by fax or e-mail I tend to bin them - call me old fashioned if you like but it works for me. :)

As we are a small company we do not use memo's but you may consider that posting a notice on the board advising of the years holiday dates may constitute a memo. Normally, if any one of us has anything to say then we just gather together and thrash it out. (saves on the paperwork :D )

E-mails are quite handy especially when transferring data and this new technology sometimes has the advantage over snail mail - consider having to photocopy and post all the CDM paperwork, Risk Assesments, Method Statements, Health and Safety Policy's etc everytime you start a new project. It's much simpler to pdf it and click send (also saves on paper, ink, postage and maybe the odd tree!). CAD files are much simpler to send by e-mail - it saves on having to print a drawing, post it, wait for it to arrive at the destination, the other guy to check it for compliance with the project requirements and then to send approval - how slow is that?.
One of the drawbacks of e-mail is that you must print them out for a permanent record but it's much more difficult to print out all the attachments, and if you submit to this just so that you have obtain a permanent copy for commercial legal reasons then you may as well just use the good old Royal Mail in the first place :( Also, the genuine company e-mails have to be rescued from the excessive junk mail that appears in the Inbox.

Hope this helps and I'm sure the other members will be helpful in their own way

Frank

Abe
11-03-2005, 09:39 PM
What is the typical audience, purpose, and content of their letters and memos?

A letter in this day and age is typically for a form of communication which I would term as receiving a higher form of attention. ie: A letter is often " contractual" therefore it is carefully worded and filed. It could constitute a communication about a promotion , appointment, or a letter of reprimand or warning.

A memo is a quick , less formal means to relay an instruction......or thought process or incidental advice on operations.


2. How do they decide between writing a hardcopy letter or memo, making a phone
call, or sending email?

Again, would depend on the importance factor and relay factor.
It is becoming more acceptable now to provide initial quotations by e mail.



3. How much secretarial assistance do they receive? Do they get help editing or
proofreading their correspondence?

Would depend, there are no hard and fast rules.



4. When they have to convey specialized, technical information is it usually to
another engineer, or do they have to translate for non-specialists?

Again, would depend on circumstances and the ability of the other parties to comprehend technical jargon.



5. What do they see as the advantages and the problems of using email in conducting
their business?

E mail is faster


Just one question ???

You sure this assignment was set at a Uni ???????? :D :D :D :D

Just a joke...............relax!!!! :)
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Brian_UK
11-03-2005, 11:47 PM
MrCooling magic, I am confused as to why your post is here and not under the Air Conditioning heading.

Perhaps if you posted there you might get a response from Marc, alternatively you could try employing him directly to resolve your problem. Mind you he would require a bit more information than you have provided to ascertain the cause of your problem' you could, of course, always try the manufacturer.

Brian_UK
11-03-2005, 11:58 PM
I will answer this as a mobile site tech on aircon service/maintenance.

1. What is the typical audience, purpose, and content of their letters and memos?First recipient would be the customer followed by the office. The purpose is to provide evidence of the site visit and a report on any actions taken or works required.


2. How do they decide between writing a hardcopy letter or memo, making a phone call, or sending email?A hardcopy is nearly always required to provide evidence as stated above. A phone call to the office should always be backed up by a hardcopy to cover your ar*e.


3. How much secretarial assistance do they receive? Do they get help editing or proofreading their correspondence?
None and no.


4. When they have to convey specialized, technical information is it usually to another engineer, or do they have to translate for non-specialists?
It is usually to a non-technical customer, you can either completely baffle your client and appear a smart-ar*e or simplify things to get the message across.


5. What do they see as the advantages and the problems of using email in conducting their business?
Email requires a computer and being mobile that is not an option.